Growing up in a family of traditionalism, I found my voice later in life. I discovered that I could be so much more than a wife or mother. I could be anything I want to be. And I decided not to leave it to someday but do it today!

   In the first forty years of my life I loved everyone else and forgot all about me. I had been taught that loving and caring for oneself was "selfish". Then a light shone out of a personal tragedy, a suicide (自杀) of a loved one, which taught me the lesson of self-love. Learning to love yourself is the greatest lesson of all. I couldn't truly love anyone else if I didn't take the time to love and care for myself. How simple it sounds but how difficult it is to accomplish. Embracing that truth gave me my life back.

   Education and knowledge is power. Through education in a university I am powerful and lead my life that I choose, answering only to myself. With that responsibility I have become a better, gentler person. Without judgment I smile when I see other people's foolishness. I keep my mouth shut when I observe someone learning their lessons. If asked I try not to tell the persons what they should do, and how they should do it. Instead, I share with them my experiences and how I settled a particular challenge.

   Sixteen years ago, after a life time in theatre, I wanted to write a play about a tragedy happening to some very dear friends. Maybe someday my play will give comfort to other parents who are going through a similar trouble. Today I have written several stage plays and a series of fairy tales. The university delivered my heart's desire and I continue to do so every day and I am filled with gratitude.

At thirteen, I was diagnosed（诊断）with akind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.

In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, “Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”

She glanced down at me through her glasses, “you are no different from your classmates, young man.”

I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.

In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots（点）, which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.

Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class, being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out(溢出)and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?

I didn’t expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day--- with an “A” on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:“See what you can do when you keep trying?”

  I had been following the yellowish-green markers for a "popular and easy" three-mile out-and-back hike (远足). Immediately after the trailhead, the trail (小径) became very rocky and steep. But having read about the hike, I knew within five minutes, I was supposed to reach the hike's first overlook.

   However, the overlook never arrived, instead, I found myself lost in the woods. Pulling out my cellphone, I saw it read "no service". I checked the last text message I'd sent to my mom. It read, "Conference ended ... going for a small hike before my flight home this afternoon." I put my phone away and kept moving and yelling, "Help! Is anybody out there?" Every so often, I'd stop to listen, but I never heard a reply.

   I got out my phone again. The battery was running out fast as it searched for a signal. I straggled to find a place where I could get service. When I did, I called my morn. It went through! In a shaky voice, I said, "Mom?" and then the call dropped. More than 1,500 miles away, my room instantly knew something was wrong. She called the Denver Police Department and was directed to the US Foist Service.

   This was how I was introduced to John, an operator from the US Foist Service. Following John's instruction on the phone, I finally escaped frown the woods. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then my phone rang, and it was John, making sure I was still going in the tight direction. "By the way," he said, "we've had your mother on hold this whole time. So once you get down the mountain, you will absolutely want to give her a call."

On Monday, May 9, James Givens, a police officer in Cincinnati, Ohio, was sitting in his cruiser (巡逻车) when he heard what sounded like a knock. He turned around only to find a goose pecking (啄) at the car door. This was highly unusual given that the birds typically preferred to observe humans from a distance.

   But on this day, the goose appeared to be determined to get his attention and kept pecking until Givens opened the car door and stepped out. The police officer says that though the bird then began to walk away, it kept turning around to make sure he was following. When they finally stopped, Givens realized why the mother goose had been so persistent— She needed help to free her gosling (小鹅) that had managed to get trapped in some balloon string.

   Worried that the mother goose would attack him if he got close to the baby, Givens called the local SPCA chapter. Unfortunately, they were unable to send anyone to help right away. Concerned that the gosling would not survive the delay, fellow police officer Cecilia Charron, who had just joined Givens, decided to take on the task herself.

   As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. The mother goose appeared to realize that Charron was trying to help and watched patiently from a safe distance as the officer untangled (解开) the trapped bird. As soon as the little gosling was free, it trotted to its mom, and the two took off shortly after. Charron, a 24-year veteran of the police force, said this would probably go down as the most memorable incident of her career!

I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I think about people and about Christmas.

I hate Black Friday sales. It’s often a gathering of people who are there for many different reasons. Some are looking for a deal on that one item for their loved one, or perhaps themselves. Their purposes completely have nothing to do with the festive time of year, and can just be summed up with one word, “Cheap!”

It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child’s bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle(口哨). I told my wife that if we got a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.

As the number of bikes began to gradually decrease, I saw my “polite” opportunity to reach my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it and suddenly felt some mild resistance(阻力). I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Frightening was not the word to describe his appearance. He was wearing lots of straps of metal spiked leather(带有柳钉的皮带) around both arms and even his neck. Still, tattoos(纹身) were an obvious love of his.

I started to return the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas.” All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all prejudice(偏见) I may have had of certain types of people. The softness of a human heart can be seen in a simple act. I will never forget it.

An expensive car speeding down the main street of a small town was soon caught up with by a young motorcycle policeman. As he started to make out the ticket, the woman behind the wheel said proudly, “Before you go any further, young man, I think you should know that the mayor of this city is a good friend of mine.” The officer did not say a word, but kept writing. “I am also a friend of chief of police Barens,” continued the woman, getting more angry each moment, Still he kept on writing. “Young man,” she persisted, “I know Judge Lawson and State Senator (参议员) Patton.”

Handing the ticket to the woman, the officer asked pleasantly , “Tell me, do you know Bill Bronson.”

“Why, no,” she answered.

“Well, that is the man you should have known,” he said, heading back to his motorcycle, “I an Bill Bronson.”

                                                         A

Here are some inspiring athletes in the world.

  I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”

  “No! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.

   My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and when I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.

  When I reached the hospital, my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911, thank God! If he had moved Daddy, there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib（肋骨）might have pierced（穿透）a lung...”

  My mother may have said more, but I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear anything except those terrible words: Leave me alone. My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more. How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?

It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.

  “Daddy… I am so sorry…”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay. ”

  “No,” I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”

  My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly. He looked at me and said. “Sweetheart, I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. But I remember kissing you goodnight the night before. ”He managed a weak smile.

  My English teacher once told me that words have great power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.

    In 2013 summer movie season, the studios rolled out their biggest pictures.

Sequels(续集） and series

    Once again sequels and series made up a big part of the summer offerings. Iron Man 3 finds billionaire and superhero Tony Stark traveling to China. There he faces the terrorist mastermind（决策者）.

    Science-fiction fans eagerly awaited Star Trek Into Darkness, the 12th film in the Star Trek series. In it, Captain James T. Kirk and his crew must hunt down the villain（坏人）responsible for Starfleet's destruction.

    Sully and Mike of Monsters, Inc. return in Monsters University, which tells of the pair's days at the University of Fear. Their initial dislike of each other slowly becomes respect and, eventually, friendship.

Another animated（动画的） offering, Despicable Me 2, finds Gru, his three adopted daughters and his band of assistants taking on a dangerous villain.

 More animated offerings

    In Epic, teenager Mary Katherine is magically transported to a deep forest where a battle between good and evil is taking place. She joins a group of strange characters who are fighting to save their world.

    The animated 3D adventure Turbo follows the adventures of a snail whose goal is to win the Indianapolis 500.

 Action and adventure

   Pacific Rim tells of a team of humans who pilot giant robots in a worldwide battle against an alien attack.

   Real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith costar in After Earth, the story of a father and son who crash land on planet Earth.

   In the action-drama White House Down, Channing Tatum stars as a Secret Service agent trying to save the U.S. president.

   Those wanting more stories shouldn't miss the latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Gatsby in this tragic romance.

   With so many great titles to see, film fans spent many hours experiencing danger, drama and laughter from the comfort of a theater seat.

   This dog just may be the world’s largest pit bull (比特犬). Only 18-month-old, Hulk weighs 175 pounds.

   Despite his large size, his owners Maron Grannan and his wife Lisa Grannan say Hulk is a sweet family dog and a best friend to their 3-year-old son Jordan.

  Online videos and photos of Hulk with their son in their New Hampshire home break down misconceptions about pit bulls as cruel monsters (怪物).

  Grannan’s son can be seen riding Hulk, singing with him and sleeping with him.

  “He’s a wonderful and excellently trained dog,” Grannan said. “He plays with my kid; he’s great with the family and he’s so, so sweet.”

  “Because pit bulls are only in the media when bad things happen, this myth of them as monsters gets perpetuated (使永存),” Grannan added, “but it’s not true. They might not be for everyone, but with a good leader and proper training, they make amazing family and protection dogs.”

  Grannan and his wife are the owners of Dark Dynasty K9s, family-owned kennel (养狗场) that raises and trains American pit bulls as protection dogs for customers worldwide. Dark Dynasty K9s is also a member of the American Dog Breeders Association and the United Kennel Club.

  Grannan said, “Our goal is to make these dogs brave enough to be guard dogs, not for them to be uncontrollable and bit anyone. That is improper training.”

  He owns 12 pit bulls for training. All of them live and work with him at their 150-acre home and kennel.

  And yet, Hulk, the biggest of them all, has got the most attention. A video of him being weighed last month had over 7 million views as of Tuesday morning.

  “My hope is that with all this attention we can change people’s minds about pit bulls in a positive way,” Grannan said.